I know over 50 stores that bought a tumbler to vacuum seal marinades-you can put a 16 day shelf life on these marinades-they have a marinade section year round, and do very well!
The tumbler is essentially a drum and motor- the motor vacuums out the air (when meat and marinade is in the drum-the vacuum, opens the pores of the meat like a sponge so the marinades go deep into the meat-then lay the drum on the sides and it "tumbles" or rolls around for 10 minutes
the commercial vac seal machines are awesome!! you can do alot with them!! The stores that had these vac seal machines, got a jump on competition, by vac sealing bnls prime ribs (even seasoned) a week before christmas, and they were perfectly fine for christmas day-they also sold many seasoned bnls pork roasts-good for two weeks.
I used the vacuum sealers before. Don't care for them. you ever notice when they suck out all the oxygen that meat starts looking funny in a hurry. It doesn't matter how often you explain to the customer "Oh it just looks that way because we vaccuum sealed it." They still won't buy it. Thats just my experinece though. Maybe your machine is better than the one i had to use. I believe that only some things should be vacuumed sealed and the things that my manager at the time was insisting we vacuum seal were not some of those things.
that makes perfect since. i was more comfortable with vac sealing poultry or or some pork but my manager was making me seal filet mignon and strips and ribeyes and she couldn't understand why noone would by them.
we have a tumbler to vacuum seal marinades but no longer use it, it never caught on in our store. I have worked 4 stores that it never sold, people just wasn't into it. they will buy meat with a BBQ rub on it faster than marinade meats
beefman, thats too bad-must be a regional thing- I know of a store that has over 80 different marinades at one time, and it's an independent-not a chain store
15 years ago, vac seal was a tough sell, but with the popularity of home foodsavers, most customers are more aware-of the advantages of vacuum sealing
here's an advantage- you can throw vacuum sealed meat (marinades) right in a cooler of beer and ice-you cant do that with a foam tray or butcher wrap...lol
Bigbeef, 600lbs in one day is impressive!! great job! and 40-50lbs of vac pak marinated breasts daily is also impressive!
One item (new item)for the vac-pak which is one of my favs is stir-fry chicken or beef strips, tumbled with stir-fry veggies in everson burgundy-pepper (spice), then vac sealed- a customer can just open the bag over a skillet and it's a delicious meal in minutes
also skewered beef strips on wooden skewers-snap off the shap pointed ends, place in 10s foam tray and vac seal for teriyaki beef strips
if you made your own- old fashioned corned beef-this also does well vac sealed and keeps for over 3 weeks in the case
also, pork roast florentine-roll out a bnls pork loin, stuff with provolone cheese and spinach and tie-then lay flat-very eye-appealing you can roll the outside in pepper and call it crusted pork florentine I'll try to post a pic below
-- Edited by Mainemeatman on Sunday 22nd of January 2012 09:40:39 AM
Vac pak machines are awesome and are essential for eliminating shrink. We vac pak in house made sausages, give them a 14 day shelf life and make 44% on them. We rarely throw any out. Rarely as in never.
Bigbeef, 600lbs in one day is impressive!! great job! and 40-50lbs of vac pak marinated breasts daily is also impressive!
One item (new item)for the vac-pak which is one of my favs is stir-fry chicken or beef strips, tumbled with stir-fry veggies in everson burgundy-pepper (spice), then vac sealed- a customer can just open the bag over a skillet and it's a delicious meal in minutes
also skewered beef strips on wooden skewers-snap off the shap pointed ends, place in 10s foam tray and vac seal for teriyaki beef strips
if you made your own- old fashioned corned beef-this also does well vac sealed and keeps for over 3 weeks in the case
also, pork roast florentine-roll out a bnls pork loin, stuff with provolone cheese and spinach and tie-then lay flat-very eye-appealing you can roll the outside in pepper and call it crusted pork florentine I'll try to post a pic below
-- Edited by Mainemeatman on Sunday 22nd of January 2012 09:40:39 AM
I'm with you on the corned beef. Been doing it for years. It turns out awesome not to mention the weight from the brine.
We always used a tumbler for shish-ka-bob. I would buy a good unit rather than a home unit. We use to marinate pork chops, beef ribs, chicken wings and breast. Machine paid for itself in no time.
